Chasing Mirages by Russandol
Fanwork Notes
“Of old there was Sauron the Maia, whom the Sindar in Beleriand named Gorthaur. In the beginning of Arda Melkor seduced him to his allegiance, and he became the greatest and most trusted of the servants of the Enemy, and the most perilous, for he could assume many forms, and for long if he willed he could still appear noble and beautiful, so as to deceive all but the most wary.
When Thangorodrim was broken and Morgoth overthrown, Sauron put on his fair hue again and did obeisance to Eönwë the herald of Manwë, and abjured all his evil deeds. And some hold that this was not at first falsely done, but that Sauron in truth repented, if only out of fear, being dismayed by the fall of Morgoth and the great wrath of the Lords of the West. But it was not within the power of Eönwë to pardon those of his own order, and he commanded Sauron to return to Aman and there receive the judgement of Manwë. Then Sauron was ashamed, and he was unwilling to return in humiliation and to receive from the Valar a sentence, it might be, of long servitude in proof of his good faith; for under Morgoth his power had been great. Therefore when Eönwë departed he hid himself in Middle-earth; and he fell back into evil, for the bonds that Morgoth had laid upon him were very strong.”
“Of The Rings of Power and The Third Age”, The Silmarillion, J.R.R Tolkien
Warning: This tale describes a m/m relationship including sexual content and D/S themes. Please heed the overall story warnings.
Translations, quotes, etc. are provided at the end of each chapter, but generally only the first time a new term appears in the story. A list of characters, place names and glossary is also available in Appendix B.
Acknowledgements: I wish to thank elfscribe for her patient and insightful beta reading and unflagging support and to pandemonium_213 for encouraging me along from the very first draft long before I began posting, as well as for providing fabulous feedback. Thanks are due also to a bunch of folk at the Lizard Council (that is, kymahalei, elfscribe, erulisse, oshun, aearwen, surgicalsteel, Scarlet, pandemonium, Darth Fingon, Elf of cave, kimberleighe, vanime18431, dracoena, DrummerWench, grey gazania, Spiced Wine, sanna, lilithlessfair, alassante, crowdaughter, elleth and windsurfbabe. I hope I haven’t forgotten anyone!) who have commented and nit picked for many months. Special mention goes to SurgicalSteel for expert advice on injuries caused by different types of weapons and to Darth Fingon for help with both Quenya and Sindarin names.
All remaining errors are my own!
My vision of Sauron as a far more complex character than a villainous Dark Lord has no doubt been strongly influenced by the amazing The Apprentice by pandemonium_213 where she describes his clever seduction of the elves of Ost-in-Edhil using the arcane knowledge he possesses, and by the gripping tale Elegy for Númenor by elfscribe, where Annatar is superbly presented as a master manipulator, giving it all to the task of beguiling Ar-Pharazôn. These are two of the works that irreversibly hooked me into the Silmarillion fandom. For a little crossover to this latter novel, here's the link to my story Hospitality.
And here's two wonderful portraits of Eönwë, on the left, in the distant land of Kiinlúum, by Lyra, and on the right, by Alasse:
Thanks, pandemonium_213, for the SWG 5th Birthday icon to Eönwë. He is most grateful for your encouragement...
Disclaimer: Yes, Tolkien owns his characters, though often I dream they are mine... When the dream is over, they go back to their lives.
I make no money from them but then, most of the best things in life are free. All I'd dare ask is that if my stories entertain you, let me know by leaving a review.
- Fanwork Information
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Summary:
The story of Eönwë, Maia of Manwë, and Mairon Aulendil after the War of Wrath. A tale of darkness, light, love and betrayal over the Ages of Eä.
Tolkien simply told us that [Sauron] fell back into evil, for the bonds that Morgoth had laid upon him were very strong. But this line is unsatisfactory on so many levels that it became a challenge to create a plausible background story for Sauron's fall, from the time Eönwë returns to Aman to face the Valar over his decision to free one of Morgoth's most dreaded minions to Sauron's final fate, long after the destruction of the Ring.
B2MeM 2011 and 2012 participant
MEFA 2011 1st Place - Incomplete: Drama & Smaug's Treasure (but complete since then!)
Major Characters: Original Character(s), Anárion, Celebrimbor, Elrond, Eönwë, Erestor, Finarfin, Gil-galad, Glorfindel, Maglor, Mandos, Manwë, Melian, Sauron
Major Relationships:
Artwork Type: No artwork type listed
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Slash/Femslash
Challenges: B2MeM 2011, B2MeM 2012, Fifth Birthday Celebration
Rating: Adult
Warnings: Character Death, Expletive Language, Mature Themes, Rape/Nonconsensual Sex, Sexual Content (Graphic), Torture, Violence (Graphic)
This fanwork belongs to the series
Chapters: 40 Word Count: 174, 416 Posted on 12 July 2010 Updated on 23 April 2023 This fanwork is complete.
Table of Contents
Eönwë, Herald of Manwë, returns to Aman after the War of Wrath.
Please note that translations for elvish terms (or words from other languages, as the story progresses) are usually listed at the end of each chapter and in the Appendix B. List of Characters, Place Names and Other Terms.
Eönwë sails to Middle-earth.
Eönwë arrives at his destination and meets the foe he's been commanded to seek.
Eönwë settles in Kiinlúum, a far realm of the East of Middle-earth.
Mairon drops the bait, and Eönwë... well, read at your own peril if you wish to find out.
Eönwë asks a favour from Mairon. Unfortunately for him, events do not work out as planned.
Eönwë and Mairon become more intimately acquainted.
The day after, Eönwë asks many questions, and Mairon provides answers.
Eönwë visits Mairon in his workshop and they strike a deal.
The years go by, Eönwë receives a present and Mairon another alias!
Eönwë makes a dreadful mistake and must pay the price.
Eönwë is summoned by the king and learns the whole truth.
Eönwë gets his... revenge?
Eönwë finds a new balance in his life in Kiinlúum.
Eönwë has to deal with the passing of Time.
This chapter fits two prompts of B2MeM 2011.
Eönwë proves his faith in his former foe.
This chapter fits three prompts of B2MeM 2011.
Eönwë's bliss is shadowed by foresight. What will prevail: fate or free will?
A summons is issued, Eönwë makes a decision and Mairon... well, Mairon surprises Eönwë.
This chapter fits two of the prompts of B2MeM 2011.
War escalates in Kiinlúum. Mairon and Eönwë play their parts.
Thank you to wonderful SurgicalSteel, who provided expert medical advice for the relevant portions of this chapter.
Eönwë faces the Doomsman of the Valar.
This chapter fits a prompt of B2MeM 2011.
Eönwë returns to Middle-earth.
Eönwë gets into trouble in Lindon.
A big thank you to Darth Fingon for his theory about the etymology of a particular obscure term.
Following Elrond's revelation, Eönwë stays in Lindon.
Eönwë and Elrond get to know each other over the years.
Elrond surprises Eönwë; years later, he has visitors.
Ereinion makes kingly decisions; a couple of centuries later, Eönwë receives exciting news.
Eönwë answers Mairon’s message.
Annatar talks about ships and wings; Mairon gets jealous.
Elrond decides it is time to travel back to Lindon.
Eönwë receives a message from Mairon, and Gil-galad from Celebrimbor.
Sauron shows his Dark Lord’s colours.
This chapter fits several B2MeM 2012 prompts:
Controversial - I22: Fate: Free Will or Preordained?
This Means War! - O67: Sauron vs. Celebrimbor
Shattered dreams, lies and more...
This chapter fits several B2MeM 2012 prompts:
Discoveries - B4: The Rings of Power
Emotions - B9: Love, B14: Pain, I18: Grief, N33: Courage and G51: Cruelty
Following an unlikely victory, a new age begins; darkness grows again slowly until it hits home.
This chapter fits the following B2MeM 2012 prompts:
Artifacts & Weapons - B7: Narsil
Powers & Underpowers - B7: Irmo (Lórien): nightmare
This Means War! - N41: Sauron vs. Isildur
Weapons & Warfare - I27: Mace
Archery in Arda - B6: Wood elves of Mirkwood
Emotions - G59: Hope
Erestor is not happy about the decision to send Frodo to destroy the Ring in the fires of Orodruin. Eönwë makes plans.
Special thanks to SurgicalSteel for her invaluable advice on knife injuries.
This chapter fits the following B2MeM 2012 prompt:
Discoveries - G51: Songs of Power
The two ages of Eönwë’s banishment come to an end.
This chapter fits the following B2MeM 2012 prompts:
Emotions - B1: Joy
Emotions - I21: Awe
Eönwë travels to Ithilien, before paying another visit to the Moritarnon.
This chapter fits the following B2MeM 2012 prompts:
Controversial Topics - O72: Do Balrogs have wings?
Powers and Underpowers - B15: Námo (Mandos): fear of the dead/ghost
Eönwë stands again before Manwë, and a doom is spoken (aka “all you ever wanted to tell Manwë and Námo to their faces but never dared to.”) This story finally reaches the end... for now.
A diamond-encrusted gold medal goes to elfscribe, who betaed this chapter twice in full and many other times in portions, because I tweaked and tweaked and kept tweaking. Thank you so much, my dear. You’ve made it all possible.
Thank you also to the bunch of assorted reptilians at the Lizard Council who encouraged me, offered great advice and feedback, and gorged on nits over the two years it’s taken me to travel this journey.
This chapter fits the following B2MeM 2012 prompt:
Controversial Topics - B7: Nothing is evil in the beginning...
Entries in italics are described or listed in at least one of the Tolkien canon sources given below.
Dates are given as “year, age” and may differ in some cases from those listed in the “Tale of Years” in The Lord of the Rings, if the events have followed the version described in Unfinished Tales or The History of Middle-earth.
Warning: it may contain mild spoilers!
This story takes place in a variety of settings, spanning several ages of Arda. Inevitably, an assortment of terms and names from several languages has made its way into the tale.
For consistency I have assumed all along that Eönwë speaks Quenya in his inner narrative, even if he is likely to be addressing someone in a different language, like Sindarin, during a particular scene.
For Yucatec, on which the invented language of Kiinlúum is based, I have relied on the “Diccionario español - maya en línea” to find words, some of which I have used without modification, while in other cases I have adapted them or combined them to create my own names or terms.
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